Compounds with isothiocyanate groups are known as activating agents with antimicrobial effects. For example, Brassicaceae Brassica plants such as Yamato-mana (Brassica rapa L. oleifera), komatsuna (Brassica chinensis) and nozawana (Brassica rapa var. hakabura) contain abundant amounts of various isothiocyanate glycosides (glucosinolates) such as arylalkyl isothiocyanates, alkenylalkyl isothiocyanates and methylsulfinylalkyl isothiocyanates, which by myrosinase activity are converted to their respective isothiocyanates, and these are of increasing interest because they exhibit a variety of physiologically active effects including antimicrobial activity, cancer-preventing effects and anti-inflammatory effects.
Isothiocyanates are usually utilized by means such as extraction of the components in plants as mentioned above, but several isothiocyanate production methods have also been proposed to date. For example, PTL 1 and NPL 1 each disclose a production method by reaction between an olefin, an epoxy compound, a halide and thiocyanic acid, while NPL 2 discloses reaction between a dithiocarbamic acid salt and a chlorformic acid ester. In addition, PTL 2 discloses a production method by reaction between an amino compound and thiophosgene, while PTL 3 discloses an isothiocyanate production method by reacting an amine compound with an ammonium salt or alkali metal salt of thiocyanic acid to produce a thiourea group, and heating the product.